AT HOME ASSIST: A decision support tool for professionals engaging in inclusive housing development

About the Project

Summary

The shortage of inclusive housing development options for people with disability in Australia is a pressing issue. Part of the shortage is due to the complexity of the inclusive housing development decision process. Designers, developers and allied health professionals indicate that knowledge gaps exist across their professions and that pertinent information necessary for multidisciplinary informed decision making concerning inclusive housing development are not available to all parties. This project aims to develop of a ‘single source’ tool to support professional stakeholders who engage in inclusive housing development. The AT HOME ASSIST web application will support professional decision making and act as an interactive information directory collating all pertinent inclusive housing new build and home modification information, particularly development standards and specifications, liveable housing guidelines, service user and allied health professional requirements, and NDIS requirements.

Aims of the Project

The web application will substantially impact the practice of developers, designers and allied health professionals involved in inclusive housing development and home modifications. The web application will:

1. Collate all relevant building requirements, liveable housing guidelines and perspectives from diverse stakeholders (developers, designers, allied health professionals, and service users) concerning inclusive housing development, thus knowledge gaps across professions will be eliminated and accurate interdisciplinary decision making will become possible.
2. Enhance the ability of stakeholders to work collaboratively by providing each group with definitive requirements across professions, and consequently contribute to innovations in practice concerning inclusive housing development.
3. Support industry to meet the demand for inclusive housing, and in doing so, reduce the shortage of inclusive housing and contribute towards favourable health outcomes for service users.